Forever Young
Enhancing skills and wellbeing of older people through fun and gentle creative arts activities
IROKO Theatre Company received a grant from The Charity of Sir Richard Whittington, one of the Mercers’ Family of Charities, to run the pilot programme of ‘Forever Young’ project, January 2019 – January 2021.
Forever Young uses creative arts activities as a vehicle to enhance the overall wellbeing of older people from different cultural backgrounds, some of whom are living with one form of mental health needs or the other e.g., depression, anxiety, loneliness, dementia, etc.
Due to the high demand and successful pilot of the project, we are glad to announce that The Charity of Sir Richard Whittington has awarded IROKO an additional three-year funding (2022 – 2025).
The new funding will enable us to build on the success of the pilot programme, implement lessons learned on improving the quality of life of older people and to upscale our existing interventions to five London Boroughs i.e., Newham, Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham, Hackney and Tower Hamlets.
Below are details from the pilot programme:
Activities include
- Oral Storytelling skills development workshops
- Traditional African group music-making and gentle movement workshops
- African bare-hand clay modelling, arts and crafts workshops
- Museum of London Docklands’ ‘Memories of London’ workshops
- Festive Sharing Days/Weekenders: picnics, celebratory events, etc.
Workshop Album
Partners:
- Museum of London Docklands
- Manor Park Neighbourhood Team
- North East London NHS Foundation Trust (Older Adult Mental Health Team)
- Redbridge Central Library (Celebratory Projects and Health & Wellbeing)
- Alzheimer’s Society Newham
- Arthritis Self-help Support Network
- Dagenham Park School
- The Big Friendly Coffee
Training
‘Forever Young’ provided skills development opportunities for older people through an intensive workshop programme that enabled them to acquire oral storytelling performance skills, as well as enhanced confidence and self-esteem. Successful participants in the programme received IROKO’s National Open College Network accredited certificate.
Representatives from partner organisations gained knowledge in using IROKO’s methodology to enhance their service delivery for older people.
Volunteering opportunities
‘Forever Young’ provided volunteering opportunities for some older people and KS12/13 students. It further provided a unique opportunity for inter-generational encounters between both age groups.
